DUBAI: The recent Chinese-brokered rapprochement between 黑料社区 and Iran was the right move, but there is still a long way to go, experts told the Arab Media Forum on Tuesday. 

鈥淚ran continues to support armed groups that Saudi opposes,鈥� Afshin Molavi senior fellow at Foreign Policy Institute in John Hopkins University, pointed out. 

Molavi鈥檚 comments came during session titled 鈥淭he Middle East 鈥� A Region of Opportunities or Conflicts鈥� alongside Faisal Abbas, editor-in-chief of Arab News.

Wondering if whether or not the deal will succeed, Abbas pointed out that the Kingdom, due to its continuous leadership, has over 40 years of experience in dealing with Iran.

鈥淭he best case scenario will be both countries putting in the leverage and work to cooperate and try to solve conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon, of course with involvement of the local players. 

The worst case scenario will be a missed opportunity to make that happen and relations remain the same.鈥�  Abbas said.

Abbas also explained why China was a better suited broker for the rapprochement deal detailing how it has leverage over Iran by investing billions of dollars in projects and there is no risk of the negotiations restarting under a different ideology every 4 years due to elections as could be the case in America. 

In his view, Molavi said China brokering the deal 鈥渃omes with a grain of salt鈥� as Washington believes China is its enemy but he believes the rapprochement is the right move for the region.  

The Arab view on China differs from the west, however. 

A recent YouGov study done by Arab News on Palestine shows how Palestinians see China as a more honest broker to handle their issue rather than the US.

Abbas said colonial powers such as France, the UK and the wars US were involved in are viewed negatively in comparison to China where its political and economical involvement in the region has been mostly positive 鈥渢he Chinese do not come with that baggage.鈥� 

On the issue of America, Molavi notes there is a shift in power and while Washington remains a powerful country, the world is witnessing a rise in other powers such as China and India.  

鈥淭oday, countries are proving that we now live in the world of multi strategic alignment, and I think Washington is beginning to understand that; it is no longer you鈥檙e either with us or against us.鈥� 

Molavi continues: 鈥渢his can also be seen in the Abraham Accords where on one hand the UAE has this historical relationship and alliance with Israel but then joins BRICS.  

Abbas described how exciting the dynamics are and spoke of the Saudi position on the matter where he mentions how the Saudi hand has been extended for 20 years provided that there will be a solution for Palestinians.  

鈥淏iden needs a foreign policy legacy and this will be a winning ticket for him for the upcoming election.鈥�  

Both speakers also discussed and highlighted the positive changes that Saudi and UAE have been making.   

Abbas noted 黑料社区鈥檚 remarkable achievements and how these stories should be celebrated and shared such as the launching of the female Saudi astronaut among other things. 

鈥淎ctions speak louder than words, Facts are stubborn things. No amount of negative stories can take those achievements away, Saudi is the fastest growing G20 economy in the world.鈥�